LENNY Wilkens sounded like a coach trying to hang on to his job last night when he warned against inflated expectations his Knicks might never fulfill.

“This team hasn’t played that long together,” Wilkens said before last night’s game against the Trail Blazers at the Garden. “We play well and everyone thinks it automatic; they want us to be a great team. I think we’ll become a good team. But it’s going to take us hitting some rough spots, bouncing back and learning how to play with one another.”

The Knicks are in the midst of one of those rough spots, entering last night’s game with a season-high, four-game losing streak that dropped them one game below .500 and raised questions about Wilkens’ job security. The anniversary of his hiring by Knicks president Isiah Thomas to succeed Don Chaney is Friday, but don’t expect any kind of lavish celebration if the Knicks continue to flounder as they have in recent weeks.

Speculation and denials of Wilkens’ impending doom might make for interesting debate, but clearly this recent pattern of ineptitude can’t continue, lest this season become a waste.

The ax shouldn’t fall on Wilkens just yet, but it’s not too early to brush the dust off the handle. In Wilkens’ defense, the Knicks are en route to suffering more injuries than the football Giants. Jamal Crawford continues to be sidelined with a bum foot, Mike Sweetney is still hobbled by an ankle injury, Allan Houston isn’t close to being 100 percent and Tim Thomas sat out last night’s game with a bruised left knee and swollen calf.

Still, the Knicks’ over-riding problem is a lack of competitiveness, especially when it comes to playing defense. Through injuries and personnel changes, the one constant that could save this team would be a commitment to defend. But the Knicks, who were blown out by 25 points at Cleveland Saturday, clearly haven’t made that commitment, allowing the opposition to shoot a healthy 46.4 percent from the field, a stat that reflects poorly on Wilkens.

“We have to defend better,” Wilkens said. “Our transition defense has to step up. We can’t allow people to get into the open court and have easy opportunities. That’s the biggest area for us right now.”

Wilkens’ biggest challenge is keeping his team from imploding before his team improves physically. A team meeting called by Vin Baker after the loss at Cleveland suggests the existence of some locker-room dysfunction, and makes you wonder about the supposed leadership of Stephon Marbury and Houston.

“Our chemistry hasn’t been great,” Wilkens said, talking more about on the court than off it. “We still have to learn what it takes for us to be a good as a team. It’s a work in progress. It’s been a difficult time for everybody.”

Meanwhile, Wilkens, who has two more years on his contract, doesn’t seem concerned about the whispers about his job security.

“I don’t worry about that right now,” he said. “While I’m here, I do my job. I don’t read the papers. I don’t know that many of [the media] played the game and really understand it. So I’m not going to get caught up in what their thoughts are.”

Thomas declined to share his thoughts with the media yesterday, denying Wilkens of a vote of confidence from the front office.